Legends of Hillwood
by Rainbow Haunting
Summary: Sid investigates strange happenings in Hillwood.
1. The Legend of the Bathroom Ghost

Legends of Hillwood

By Rainbow Haunting

Chapter 1: Legend of the Bathroom Ghost

It started like all urban legends do, with a rumor. The rumor at P.S. 118 was that the ghost of a former 4th grader, who had died after tragically drowning in the second stall toilet some thirty years ago, haunted one of the boy's restrooms. Anyone who visited the haunted bathroom witnessed toilets that flushed themselves, lights that mysteriously turned on and off by some invisible force, and most chilling of all, reports of someone or something breathing down the boys' necks when they were all alone. Needless to say, the restroom was avoided by nearly every boy at school; even the sixth graders exchanged nervous glances at one another whenever they passed by that lonely corner of the building. If there was indeed a ghost haunting P.S. 118, no one at the school had the courage to face it.

* * *

Sid was fascinated by the legend. Like most of his classmates, he was drawn to the local myths and folklore of Hillwood. When he wasn't pulling pranks or hanging out with his best buddies Harold and Stinky, Sid was busy reading up on ghosts, monsters, and anything else that went bump in the night. After exhausting the paranormal resources in his school's library, Sid turned next to the library's computer lab and searched the internet for whatever information he could find. If he found any stories that were scary or gruesome enough for his tastes, Sid printed them out so he could pour them over at home, away from any prying eyes. He was proud that he knew stories that not even Gerald knew, although the other boy was quick to point out that he would always be the Keeper of the Tales of Hillwood and not of the vast and ever endless internet. Even Fuzzy Slippers, Gerald's legends informant, had limits.

However Sid had a hunch that Fuzzy Slippers knew more about the bathroom ghost than any of the kids at their school, so when the bell rang for lunch, he headed straight to Gerald. It was easy to spot the tall haired boy among the crowds of hungry children. Like most days, Gerald was walking alongside his best friend Arnold and the both of them were talking and laughing as they made their way to the cafeteria. Sid slid in line next to them while they picked up their trays and had their meal of the day ladled out to them in thick grey lumps. Sid took a quick sniff of the food, his large nose wrinkling in disgust, before he spoke to Gerald.

"Hey Gerald! How's it going?"

Gerald picked up a carton of chocolate milk and looked up at Sid with a shrug. "Nothing much. Not too happy with all the homework Mr. Simmons gave us."

"It's not that bad," replied Arnold with that charming smile he had whenever he tried to convince someone otherwise. "I like creative writing assignments."

Not that the smile convinced Gerald. Even for a fourth grader, Gerald was more grounded and a little more jaded than his peers. "Arnold, did you see the word count? No way am I gonna write five hundred words for an essay, even if we get to write whatever we want. Just thinking about it kills my creativity already!"

Sid squeezed in between the two, glancing from Gerald to Arnold and back to Gerald again. "Hey Gerald, I got to talk to you. Just for a second! You'll be back for lunch before you know it!"

Gerald raised a hand to let Sid know that he heard him. "Alright Sid, just calm down man. I'll be there." He placed his tray on the cafeteria table and turned to Arnold. "I'll be right back. And don't let Harold drink my chocolate milk."

Turning away, Sid ushered him to the now quiet hallway outside the cafeteria. Leaning back on the wall behind him, Gerald folded his arms. "So what's up Sid? Is something spooking you out?"

Sid shook his head and paused for a second. "Nothing is spooking me, but...you know that legend right? The legend of the boys' bathroom near the gym?"

The other boy nodded. "The one with the ghost right? Everybody knows about it. Even principle Wartz knows about it, even though he keeps on tell us that there's no such thing as ghosts." He then shook his head. "Noooo way am I peeing in a haunted bathroom. You couldn't get me in there even if you triple-dogged dared me."

Balancing on the tips of his boots, Sid leaned in, his voice barely rising above a whisper. "But has anyone _seen_ the ghost? Like _really_ seen it?"

Gerald thought for a moment. "Fuzzy Slippers told me that no kid has seen it. No grown-ups either. Not even any of the janitors that've worked here. Actually that probably explains why it stinks so bad every time I walk pass it. That place really reeks."

"Gerald! You know what that means right?" Sid leaned in even closer, his sausage-shaped nose almost touching Gerald's.

"That we need better janitors?"

"That we need to go see the ghost!"

With wide-eyes, Gerald backed away. "Oh no, no, no, Sid you are crazy, man! There is no way I'm going in there!"

Sid threw his arms into the air. "Aw come on! Maybe there's no ghost! Maybe it's just a bunch of baloney! But we gotta see if it's true! If you're too chicken we can even take Harold and Stinky with us!"

His pride now wounded, Gerald pointed a finger to Sid. "Hey man, I am not chicken! Look, Fuzzy Slippers told me that no one should go into that bathroom and I'm gonna listen to him. Anyways, you're more chicken then me."

"No way!"

Something sudden and shrill rang behind Sid and with a high-pitched scream, he jumped into Gerald's arms. "See what I mean?" said Gerald, cocking an eyebrow.

With a nervous laugh, Sid crawled out of Gerald's arms and brushed himself off. After composing himself and adjusting his hat, Sid said, "I'm still gonna see the ghost, no matter what. And I'll even prove it! I'll bring my camera with me and take a picture of it."

Children began to trickle into the hallway after the bell and Gerald spotted his friend's familiar head shape in the crowd. "Alright Sid, if you prove it then I won't call you a chicken. I might even call you a bold kid. But if you wanna see the ghost, my man Fuzzy Slippers said that it only comes out when the school is closed at night."

Puffing up his chest in pride, Sid stood as tall as his short frame could muster. "I'll be there. And I'll take it's picture and show it to the whole school!"

Gerald put a hand on Sid's shoulder. "Good luck my friend. You're gonna need it."

He walked away, shaking his head when he was out of Sid's view. "That kid is a dead man."


	2. Things That Go Flush in the Night

Chapter 2: Things That Go Flush in the Night

By Rainbow Haunting

It took Sid a few hours to finally convince Stinky and Harold to ghost hunting with him. Curiosity got the better of them, as did the promise of a week-long supply of fudgy nut nut bars and lemon pudding. No doubt the other two boys were dreaming of their promised bounty while Sid got ready in his room, checking and then re-checking his supplies to make sure that he was prepared for any paranormal activity that came their way. In his backpack he had a crucifix (stolen from his family's kitchen), a bottle of water of the non-holy variety (but he hoped that the ghost wouldn't know that), a wooden stake that he made in wood-shop class (just in case it was a vampire), and most important of all, his little yellow disposable camera. He gave a few test shots around his dingy room and then turned the wheel with a flick of his thumb, the screen above the wheel turning from "20" to "17". He only needed one shot of the ghost, but sixteen more couldn't hurt.

As time crept closer to ghost hunt hour, Sid got dressed in an all-black ensemble that included a black long sleeved shirt and pants as well as a black beanie and gloves. Not wanting his parents to ask questions, the young boy sneaked past their bedroom and into the kitchen, crawling behind the sofa while his father sat obliviously watching a game show. Once he made it outside his apartment, Sid walked a few blocks near a group of apartments that were across the street from P.S. 118. Stinky was already there, with Harold huffing and puffing behind him. Sid was pleased to see that both of his friends followed his advice to wear black, though it was weird to see Stinky's lanky frame wrapped up in the color like some sort of gangly ninja. The shorter boy gave a wave to his friends and once he was close enough for them to hear asked "You guys ready to go?"

Harold was the first to speak. "Yeah I'm ready!" He crossed his beefy arms together with a big smirk on his face, acting as if this was no big deal. Stinky on the other hand was picking at his oversized shirt, the tone in his country drawl betraying his uncertainty. "I don't know about this Sid. I reckon that we can get in a big heap of trouble for this. You sure that we can get in without tripping any of them fancy alarms?"

"Yeah! Don't worry about it Stinky. I checked out a window when no one was looking and nothing happened. Now come on, let's go!"

Together the trio made their way across street, the sun now gone from the horizon and replaced by a looming night sky overhead. When they arrived in front of P.S. 118, Sid gestured for his friends to follow him to the back of the school where the playground stood. The playground seemed to have lost its bright spark of joy that it held during the day and with the darkness came a slow creep of dread that dug into the pits of their stomachs. All of the boys shivered when the wind blew through the swings, making them creak back and forth.

Not wanting to give up, Sid shoved aside his fears and pointed to the window above the emergency exit. "That's it! Stinky, can you lift me up and push me through the window?"

Stinky's eyes were focused on the window. "You still sure you want to do this?"

Harold looked around the lonely playground and inched closer to Stinky. "Yeah maybe we should go my house and eat pizza or something?"

Impatient at his friends' hesitation, Sid snapped back, "Stinky just push me through the window!"

With a sigh, Stinky picked up the shorter boy and gently lifted him up. Sid unlatched the window and after swinging it open, crawled to the other side. Landing hard on his boots, Sid rolled his ankles to get rid of the sting that the impact gave him. Once the pain subsided, Sid raised his voice. "Stinky! Lift Harold next!"

He could hear the scuffling of shoes on the other side and then a loud grunt. "Sid, I don't think I can lift Harold by myself on the account that he's too big."

Even though he couldn't see him, Sid could tell that Harold was angry. "Hey! I don't need help. I can climb this wall all by myself! Just watch me!"

Then came the sound of heavy panting, a triumphant "Told you so!", quickly followed by the sound of yelling and finally a heavy thump and a sniffling "Mommy."

Realizing that getting his friend inside would be more difficult than he thought, Sid shouted, "I'll be right back!" and ran towards an empty utility closet nearby. He fumbled in the dark for the knob and after a minute, was able to open it and find the light switch. The dinky light bulb illuminated the stacks of tables and chairs that were piled on high in the small room. Sid quickly grabbed a table stack and dragged it to the open window. He crawled up on top of the stack and peered down at his friends.

"Stinky, lift Harold up and I'll pull him from here!"

With some difficulty, Stinky was able to lift Harold high enough that Sid was able to grab ahold of the other boy's outreached hand. Using all the strength in his little body, Sid pulled while Stinky pushed and after a very long minute, Harold tumbled through the window and down came Sid and his stack of tables with a mighty crash. Sid could feel a crushing weight on his chest and when he opened his eyes, they were met with the sight of Harold's backside. "Hey can you get off of me?! I can't breath!"

Lifting from his temporary state of shock, Harold looked down and realized that his friend was underneath him. Embarrassed, Harold got off and helped his friend to his feet. "Sorry."

Sid took a breath of sweet air and waved off his apology. "It's no problem. Hey Stinky, you here?"

Stinky had watched the whole crushing episode from the window and had an amused smile on his face. Hopping down the window with surprising grace, he answered, "Yeah, I'm here. You two feelin' alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're good."

Sid took a look around and realized that it was dark. Really dark. Beyond the lights from the open window and closet, he could barely make out the end of the hallway. He should have expected it but he was so used to what the school looked like during the day that it didn't even dawn on him that it could ever be dark.

"Uh, does anyone have a flashlight?"

A long silence.

"This really bites."

"Oh! Wait I got one!" Harold searched his pant's pocket and pulled out a tiny silver flashlight. "My mom got me this just in case I ever get lost!"

"Oh man! You're a lifesaver!" Sid rubbed his hands in glee. "Boy howdy! I can't wait to see a ghost!"

Harold exchanged a worried glance with Stinky. "Uh, you mean _if_ there's a ghost right? We don't know if it's real."

Sid snatched the flashlight from Harold. "I didn't know that you were such a big baby!" Scowling, Harold grabbed the flashlight back. "I'm not a baby!"

"Then prove it!"

"Fine!" Harold led the group down the hall, stomping the whole way. As they made their way to the bathroom, Sid's eyes traveled to the edges of the light, trying to see if he could make anything out. Stinky in the meanwhile was staring dead head and was quietly chanting something to himself. At first Sid couldn't make it out but as they turned the corner near the bathroom, the words became clear.

"Lemon puddin'. Lemon puddin'. Lemon puddin'."

Harold had enough. Turning around, he shined the light at the taller boy's face. "Stinky cut that out!"

Putting his hands up to his face to block the stream of light, Stinky replied, "When I'm mighty scared, thinkin' of lemon puddin' helps to ease me of my worries."

The excuse was enough to cool down the other boy's temper. "Just shut it okay? It's creeping me out."

"More than being in front of the haunted bathroom?"

Harold spun around and the light from his flashlight settled on a door that read, "Boy's Bathroom". The door had seen better days. It's hinges were speckled with rust, paint was flaking off the wooden frame, and cobwebs made their home along the corners. All three boys stared, wide-eyed and trembling at what laid beyond. It took a couple of minutes before someone said anything.

"So who wants to go in first? Stinky? Harold?"

Harold and Stinky looked to each other and then to Sid. Before he could protest, the two boys shoved Sid forward, sending him stumbling through the door. Sid scrambled to find the light switch, the palms of his hands now cold and clammy. "Hey guys, don't leave me alone here! Please!"

A flashlight rolled from underneath the door. With lightning speed, Sid grabbed it and clicked it on. The beam of light flooded the tiny bathroom, leaving only the corners and ceiling in total darkness. Now that the room was lit, Sid opened the door to let his friends in. Upset that Harold and Stinky left him all alone, he shone the harsh light directly on their faces. "Guys, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't abandon your _friend_ here!"

"Sorry Sid," said Stinky, rubbing the back of his neck. "We just thought that since this was your idea, maybe you should be the first one to go in." The lanky boy stuck his head inside the bathroom, taking a look around. "But I reckon that there ain't any ghost in here. I don't see nothin' particular."

Harold shoved Stinky aside and tried clicking on the light switch but nothing worked. "It looks like the lights in here are busted. So do we just wait in here? How long do we have to wait Sid, 'cause I'm starting to get hungry." And right on cue, a large rumble sounded from the depths of Harold's stomach. "See!"

"We can leave once twenty minutes are up." Harold grumbled about how that was too long, but Sid ignored him while he set down his backpack on the tile floor and handed the flashlight to Stinky. He then set the bottle of water on top of the sink and found his camera lying on the bottom of his backpack, snuggled up against the crucifix. Taking it out, Sid took a few pictures of the crumbling walls that were carved into and scribbled with pen and markers from past generations of children. On the two stalls, the graffiti continued: initials, hearts and love poems, insults, crude doodles of all kinds.

As Sid was busy taking pictures, Stinky, who was following him around with the flashlight asked, "Hey Sid, why are you taking so many darn pictures?"

"There might be some kind of clues hidden here," he replied as the flash from his camera lit up the sink's mirror. "And sometimes you can't see ghosts but when you develop the film, they appear in the pictures. It happened in one of the movies I saw."

"And what happened in the rest of that movie?"

"The kids got picked off, one by one." Sid shrugged his shoulders. "You know, standard horror movie stuff."

Stinky shook his head, realizing that maybe he shouldn't have asked. "Wilkers Sid, you have a pretty morbid fascination with the dead. My Ma told me that horror movies ain't good for you."

Harold, who was standing by the sink, looking bored out of his mind, look to the other two boys with a pained expression. "This stinks! Can we go now? There's no ghost and no food! And I want food!"

"Harold can you-"

Suddenly the bathroom became much brighter. Sid looked up and saw that the cracked ceiling lights had flickered on. "Stinky, Harold, did you turn on the lights?"

Both boys shook their heads. Then just as suddenly as the lights had turned on, the lights from the bulbs faded. The boys shifted nervously as they looked around the room. Sid chuckled, but he could hardly keep the panic from his voice even as he tried to calm his friends down. "This is a pretty old school right? So there's probably something wrong with the lights." But they all knew that lights turning off and on by themselves was part of the legend.

Harold nodded, his large fingers starting to tremble. "Yeah that's it! So can we go now?!"

A toilet flushed behind them, causing all of the boys to jump and huddle near each other. "Wilkers! You think that's the...?"

"No it can't be," replied Sid, the panic beginning to rise in his throat. "Maybe it's just the old pipes? But you know, just in case..."

He looked towards the sink, but his bottle of water was empty. "Harold, did you drink my holy water?"

Harold, who was nearly crushing him in his bear-like hug, burped. "Yeah, but I was thirsty! And I wouldn't be thirsty if you didn't take so long to take pictures! And now the ghost is gonna eat us and then kill us!"

"Harold that doesn't even make-"

They stopped and listened.

They all heard it. It was faint at first. The breathing. It made the hair on their necks stand on end as it came up from behind them. As it came closer, they could hear the raggedness of it. How it inhaled and exhaled with shaky breaths. They could feel the heat of it come down their backs, beads of sweat smelling like fear rolling down their faces. When they finally couldn't take it any more, all pandemonium broke loose.

"I don't wanna diiiie!" Harold shoved the other two boys to the floor and ran towards the exit, pushing through the door as he screamed for his mommy. Stinky was close behind. "I don't want to die neither!"

Sid, who was temporarily stunned from the shove, ran towards the door next. To his horror, the knob on the door would not move. Even as he twisted with all his might, the handle did not budge. In his panic, he twisted the knob so hard that it broke in his hands, leaving him with no way out. To make matters worse, Stinky had took the flashlight with him, leaving Sid with in the dark with no exit, no friends, and in the company of a ghost.


	3. Encounter of The Sixth Kind

Chapter 3: Encounter of The Sixth Kind

By Rainbow Haunting

There was a small flame of hope that flickered in Sid as he stood at the bathroom door. Maybe Stinky and Harold would come back once they stopped screaming and realize that he was missing.

"Yeah, that's it. They'll be coming back any minute now. They wouldn't leave me here, all alone in some rundown bathroom. A bathroom that is definitely not haunted. Nope. Not haunted." He shivered and rubbed his arms to keep the cold and fear at bay. It was drafty and damp in the bathroom, the heavy smell of mildew clinging to Sid's nose. He strained his ears in the surrounding darkness but to his relief, the only sound he heard was the slow drip of the leaky faucet. Maybe this place wasn't haunted after all. Maybe the breathing was just from the trio's own nervous breathing or maybe it was just a case of overactive imaginations running wild. At least that was what Sid told himself. Still, haunted or not, he needed to get out of there. It was a Friday night and there was no way he was going to miss his classmates' game of neighborhood baseball on Saturday.

Raising his voice, the fourth-grader pounded on the door as hard as he could. "Stinky, Harold, I'm stuck in here! Let me out! I promise there's no ghost in here, but please let me out!" He yelled until his throat and fists got sore. But after fifteen minutes and with still no reply from the outside world, Sid slid to his knees and slumped his forehead against the door. "They really aren't coming back. I'm stuck." Big fat tears rolled down the boy's cheeks as his life flashed before his eyes. "I'm gonna starve. Starve or maybe a pack of rats are gonna eat me. Or maybe I'll breath in all this mold and die from some kind of horrible disease. And then nobody's going to find my body for a million years! And all because I wanted to see some stupid…." The last word came as a sob. "Ghost! I'm gonna die for something that isn't even real!" He buried his face into his hands and let out a high-pitched cry full of anguish as he thought about how much he was going to miss his parents, his pet frog Sydney, and even the very people who left him in the first place, his best friends Harold and Stinky.

As he sobbed, a fine white mist began to rise from the second stall toilet. It slowly drifted above the tiles like a dandelion puff and finally settled a few feet above Sid's head. In the midst of his crying, Sid felt a strong chill that sent goosebumps prickling on his skin. It felt like he was dumped in a bucket of ice. As he was busy wiping his nose with the sleeve of his jacket, trying to figure out what was going on, he heard the breathing again. This time it was much louder and it was coming right above him. It made his entire body tense with dread. Slowly, he craned his neck up towards the ceiling and there he saw the cloud of mist. His eyes were glued to the form as it began to change. The mist grew a pair of arms and hands, a pair of legs and feet to go along with it, a torso, a neck, a head, and then a face. As the face swirled to form its shape, Sid finally shook free of his shock and screamed. He threw himself to the other side of the room and crawled to his backpack, fumbling to open the zipper in the dark. Once he ripped it open, Sid's fingers blindly searched for something to help him until he finally found the smooth wooden corners of a cross. Thrusting the crucifix in front of him, Sid closed his eyes, too nervous to remember what prayer he was supposed to invoke. Why did the movies always make it look so easy?!

"Go away! Please! I'm just a kid and I don't want to die now! I have friends and family that I really want to see again! And a pet frog that'll miss me! I have so much I wanna see and do!" Tears once again flowed under his shut eyelids. "I want to live I tell you! Liiiive!"

"I won't hurt you."

The voice was so faint that Sid almost didn't catch it. Opening one eye, Sid glanced up and saw the face of a boy about his age, with tight black curly hair and thick-framed glasses. He was wearing a button down shirt with green suspenders, a pair brown pants, and a matching newsboy cap. He looked so lifelike that Sid almost couldn't believe his eyes. Fear gave way to disbelieve as Sid dropped the crucifix and reached out to the boy. "Hey you're not a cloud thing. Are you-?" His hand went through the boy the moment he touched him. The same cold feeling that he had sensed earlier shot through his spine as his fingers brush up against the empty space. "Oh." He withdrew his hand. "You really are a ghost huh?"

The ghost boy nodded.

"So you're not gonna hurt me?"

Again the ghost boy nodded.

"Okay. Um. Thanks. I guess." Sid didn't know what to say next. All this time he was hoping to see something supernatural but he never thought he'd be able to see a ghost, never mind actually talking to one. "So. What's it like being..." Dead? A ghost? "Uh never mind." He was silent for a few moments before he suddenly opened his mouth and sent a barrage of questions. "What's your name? How old are you? What time in history did you come from? 'Cause you dress kinda funny and I'm thinkin' you might've come from the thirties maybe?"

The ghost boy didn't seem bothered by all the questions. He floated closer to Sid and silently drifted down to the floor beside him. "My name is Marvin. I was nine when I attended P.S. 118 in nineteen thirty two. Hillwood wasn't a city back then. It was just a quiet town."

"Hey I'm nine too! So do you ever leave this place?"

The ghost shook his head. "Never. Every time I look out the window, I get reminded on how different everything is since I died. Hillwood has changed so much that I can't even recognize it. The only thing that hasn't changed is this bathroom. I always made sure to scare the repairmen and custodians so they don't try to tear down the walls or give it a new coat of paint."

The boy's mouth curled down into a frown. "Everyone that I ever knew in my life is either dead or so old that they can't remember me. This place is the only thing I have left."

Sid's excitement was quickly extinguished when he felt a wave of pity wash over him. The ghost was lonely and all alone in the world. There were times when Sid felt lonely too, but he couldn't imagine what it would be like to have everyone that you ever knew gone, existing only in your memories. He then recalled a book he had checked out at the library titled, "The ABCs of Ghosts". One of the passages said that ghosts sometimes lingered on earth because they were scared to move on. Maybe Marvin felt the same way.

Reaching over to Marvin, Sid ignored the cold sensation as his hand went through the other boy and rested on Marvin's hand on the floor. "Have you ever thought about moving on and seeing your friends and family again? I'm sure they really miss you."

Marvin looked up from where Sid placed his hand. "I don't know if I want to. What if I move on and they aren't there? What if I move on and that place is worse than it is here? Or what if there's nothing at all? I don't want to be alone."

"You're already alone. I mean just think about it. The only people who come in here you scare off and I think they'd be too freaked out to talk to you. Plus bathrooms kinda smell bad and this place really, really stinks. No offense. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think the afterlife is going to be worse than this."

Sid's eyes were downcast as he reflected on his own fears. "Look, I know what it's like to be afraid. I get scared about a lot of things like germs or vampires or being alone like you." Setting aside his doubts, Sid glanced up at Marvin and held his pale phantom gaze with his own. "But a friend taught me that you can't be afraid of things all the time. If your fear is keeping you from being happy, then you gotta let go of that fear. There's a lot of things out there that are scary and weird and most of the time we don't have the answers. But you can't let that get to you Marvin. You have to be free."

Marvin adjusted his glasses and was silent. It was hard for Sid to tell what the other boy was feeling but much to his surprise, opaque tears began to roll down from underneath Marvin's lenses. He watched as they slid from the other boy's face, falling like milky pebbles, only for them to vanish once they hit the floor, leaving nothing behind. Without a word, Marvin placed his arms around Sid and the other boy could actually feel it, just like a touch from the living. And this time, the cold feeling that he had felt earlier was gone completely. It almost made him think that Marvin was alive. It was if time had rolled back to the year nineteen thirty two and the kid that stood in front of Sid was whole and healthy again.

"Thank you Sid. Thank you for talking to me and making me realize that I have to overcome my fears."

Marvin returned his arms to his sides and began to fade away, particle by particle. "I'm finally going to see my family and friends again."

Getting up, Sid asked, "So does that mean I won't be seeing you again?"

"Yes. I won't be haunting this bathroom or any where else ever again."

Sid nodded. He was glad to see that Marvin was letting himself free. And then he remembered something. "Wait, Marvin, before you go, can I ask you something?"

The ghost boy shrugged. "Sure."

Even in all the darkness of the room, Sid's little yellow camera glinted in the moonlight. He held it up and grinned.

"Can I take your picture?"

* * *

"...and that's how I met the bathroom ghost and laid him to rest. The end."

The crowd of children were gathered around Sid during recess on Monday and most of them were captivated by his tale. Most...except for one.

"Really bucko? That's it?" Helga had her hands on her hips, leering down at the shorter boy. "Where's the proof?"

Stinky, who was standing next to Sid, crossed his skinny arms. "Aw Helga, Sid's tellin' the truth. He don't need any proof." He then leaned over to his friend and whispered, "But you do got proof, don't ya Sid?"

Raising his voice so that everyone could hear him, Sid replied, "Yeah, I got your proof right here!" He fished out a picture from his backpack and held it up for all to see. "Behold the ghost in all his spooky glory!"

"Give me that!" Helga snatched up the picture and gave it a long hard look. "Criminey Sid, this is just the flash from your camera reflected on the mirror. You're gonna have to give us something better than that if you want us to think it's a-" Helga put the next word in air quotation marks with her fingers. "Ghost. Only morons believe they exist."

Sid grabbed his photo back with a scowl. "They do exist! And my photo proves it!"

Helga rolled her eyes and motioned her friend Phoebe to follow her. "Sure it does. And pigs will fly out of my butt. Well I got something better to do then sit around and listen to Van Helsing here. See you losers later."

After the crowd dispersed into the surrounding playground, Sid sat on the hot asphalt as he scrutinized his photo. "You don't think she's right do you Stinky? You believe me right?"

The lanky boy nodded. "I sure do and so does Harold. I reckon Helga was just mighty jealous of you, that's all." He paused to pull a bowl of lemon pudding out from his sack lunch and took a loud whiff. "Mmm. Lemon pudding. Thanks for giving me lots of lemon pudding Sid. I'm sure Harold's happy with his candy too. You wanna join us for lunch?"

Sid shook his head and went back to pouring over his photo. "Nah. I'll catch up with you guys later. Anyways we still gotta figure out how we can avoid detention."

The taller boy sighed. "Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. I reckon we can always tell Principle Wartz that we're real sorry that me and Harold called 9-1-1 to save you and that we'll never break into the school again." He then gave a look of longing at his bowl of pudding. "Well, my lemon pudding is callin' me, so I'll see ya later Sid."

"Bye Stinky."

After a couple of minutes of Sid squinting and holding the photo out in the sunlight, a dark tall-haired silhouette casted its shadow over the picture. Startled, Sid dropped the photo and let out a high pitched yell, only to quickly realize that Gerald was standing over him.

"Sid, did anyone ever tell you that you scream like a girl?"

Trying to hide his red-faced embarrassment, Sid got up and picked up his photo like it was no big deal. "Yeah, sometimes. So what are you here for anyways?"

Gerald crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth tugged into a small smile. "I just wanted to say that you're a bold kid Sid. I never thought I'd see the day when someone finally decided to face the bathroom ghost. Never thought that someone would be you. You always struck me as a whimpy kid, no offense. But even my man Fuzzy Slippers was impressed by what you did."

"Boy howdy! Really?" The smaller boy's eyes shone with pride. Sid felt like he was going to burst into a thousand bits of blissful confetti, that's how good those words were. Gerald was one hard kid to impress and because he was coolest kid in the entire school, nothing made Sid happier than winning the keeper of the tales's approval.

"Yeah man. Every kid in school is talking about you. I know Helga doesn't believe you, but I do. I've been inside that bathroom and nothing spooky has been going on there since you got rid of the ghost. And all the boys that've been there said the same thing." He placed a hand on Sid's shoulder. "You got a gift. Maybe you should be picking up ghost bustin' or something."

That gave Sid an idea. "Yeah, I think you're on to something." With his mind racing at the possibilities, he stepped away from Gerald and gave him a wave goodbye. "Thanks Gerald! I'll see you later!"

Gerald watched Sid cut across the playground as fast as his boots could take him. He had no idea what the other boy was planning, but he hoped it was something good and not something he'd regret later.


	4. Park's Problem

Chapter 4: Park's Problem

By Rainbow Haunting

More rumors were passed on from the students at P.S 118 about Sid's supernatural gift of ridding ghosts. But like the game of telephone, the rumors only became more crazy and exaggerated over time as each kid gave their own retelling before passing it on to the next.

"I heard the ghost was six foot tall!"

"No way! It was at _least_ fifty feet. And it had horns!"

"Someone told me that Sid had to fight it off with a sword!"

"No, no. He used a bear that he had summoned from the sixth dimension. You can clearly see the claw marks on the stall."

Sid did nothing to stop the rumors; in fact, he was ecstatic to be the center of attention. When his peers asked him if he really did kill a ghost with a flaming sword while riding atop a bear, wearing only a polka dotted loincloth, he nodded and soaked in all of the praise that they gave him. Kids followed him around school like groupies, asking if they could hang out with him or help him carry his books. Girls would giggle as he strutted on by like a rooster. Cool kids finally invited him to their parties and even Rhonda, _Rhonda_ of all people, gave him a compliment on how shiny his greasy hair looked. Sid felt like he was finally on top of the world and he wanted nothing more than to stay right where he was.

All this newfound popularity however did cost Sid his approval with Gerald. Whenever they crossed paths, Gerald only shook his head and turned his back on him. Arnold gave Gerald a confused look, not really understanding why his best friend was acting cold around Sid but knowing football head, he'd probably get to the bottom of it eventually. Sid had a hunch that Gerald was mad at him for not being true to himself but in all honesty, the guilt that Sid had was quickly smothered by the fact that he was finally popular. True, his heart sank a little each time Gerald ignored him but it was hard to be upset when everyone around him was offering him compliments and favors.

To capitalize his success even further, Sid set up shop in a small utility closet at school and began a ghost busting business of his own. For only quarter, he would get rid of any ghost for you and in the unlikely event that he failed, you'd get your money back. Other kids advertised for him through word of mouth and his business location was kept a tight-lipped secret to prevent Principle Wartz from shutting it down.

There were only so many hauntings in Hillwood but there was always a steady stream of nervous kids that would shuffle in and explain their situation to Sid. They would complain about how their room was always cold or they felt like something was watching them sleep and wanted Sid to help rid whatever was bothering them. At first, Sid approached each case like he did with the bathroom ghost; he brought religious items, cameras, and the like to give him a better chance at dispelling the spirits. But whenever he arrived at his clients' houses, he quickly discovered that the "ghosts" were just the by-products of old apartment buildings and overactive imaginations. Still, money was tight and he had a business to run, so Sid acted as if all the ghosts were real and got "rid" of them with a few sprinkles of his holy water. His act only become more and more elaborate as time went on. Most of his clients were expecting something dramatic, so Sid fed their expectations with bizarre incantations, a foreboding black cape draped around his shoulders, and the ability to "summon" invisible spirits of his own to do his bidding. In reality it was really just Harold and Stinky wailing outside and shaking trees while Sid distracted his clients with his act. And the bizarre incantations? They were lines read backwards from a box of Sugar Chunk cereal, written in ink on the inside of his wrist. None of the kids had suspected the ruse; most were pleased with Sid's work and happily forked over their parents' quarters after the ritual. The money was then split with Harold and Stinky and together they'd buy candy bars and laugh at the suckers that they had conned. At least, that was how it was until Park came into Sid's office.

The after school bell had just rung and like clockwork, Sid walked to his closet office to see any potential clients. As he rounded the corner, Sid saw Park standing outside the door, shuffling his feet and glancing around. When he spotted Sid, he gave a wave and a small smile, but his eyes remained nervous. Without a word, Sid opened the door and gestured his classmate to come inside. Park took a seat on an old wooden chair, its' arms covered in crude carving and old pieces of gum from generations of past kids. It creaked as he leaned forward.

"Sid, I need you to help me."

The junior ghost buster leaned back and placed his boots on the desk. He grabbed a bottle of yahoo soda from a cooler and opened it with a loud pop. Sid skimmed the froth with his lips and placed the soda back down.

"It's no problem Park. That's what I'm here for. Now tell me what you need me to get rid of. Want a yahoo?"

Park shook his head and gave a fleeting, disapproving stare at Sid's feet on the desk. "No thanks. Anyways, I heard you're good at getting rid of ghosts and I got a ghost problem. A real bad one. I need to know if you can make it go away."

" 'Course I can. They don't call me the Sidminator for nothing."

"Sidminator? Who calls you that?"

Sid gave a hasty retreat. "Uhh, some people. In my inner most circle. That's why you probably never heard of it. Sooo you got a ghost problem? I can fix that for you. I just need some details to prepare my spells and stuff."

The other boy ran his fingers through his glossy black hair and sighed. "Well it all started when I was in second grade. I'd wake up to a breeze at night. And then I'd lose things but they'd show up later in a different spot from where I left it. Our T.V and radio would turn on and off by itself. Sometimes I felt a hand on my shoulder."

There was a dull scribbling sound as Sid took out a notebook and made a checklist. "Okay, was there anything else?"

Park stopped as if it deicide whether or not he should share the next bit of information. This time as he spoke, his voice shook. "I have dreams. I see a lady standing in a white room. She's wearing white too. And she's always crying. I try to talk but nothing helps. She never stops crying. I can't sleep when I have these dreams."

"So do you think that this ghost might be related to you? Like a dead grandma or aunt?"

For a split second there was a pained expression on Park's face. Sid was too busy writing to notice. "No. I don't think so. I don't know her. But I think she's a gwisin."

Sid looked up. "A gwisin? What's that?"

"A Korean ghost. They're like the ghosts here. When someone dies but they want to stay on earth, they become a gwisin. They stay because they feel attached to their families or they need to do something before they move on. They become stronger the longer they stay on earth. My dad used to tell me scary stories about gwisin so I wouldn't stay out too late. I used to think they were just stories until this happened."

With a pleading looking, Park took Sid's hands and held them. His palms were slippery with sweat. "Sid, can you make sure she goes away and never bothers me again?"

Sid nodded, closing his notebook shut. "Don't worry Park, I got this covered. And since I'm a nice guy, I'll do this work free!" This of course was a calculated move on Sid's part. Park was one of the cool kids and because Sid wanted to be one himself, he figured that a little free work would help elevate his cool status. Besides, the ghost was probably a mix of nightmares and coincidence. Just a result of all those scary stories. Probably. Definitely. Maybe?


End file.
